Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki announced last week that he was staying in Happy Valley and talked about his decision Monday.
😂 https://t.co/ZTrJSqYXCZ pic.twitter.com/xKpDBSKjV0
— Coach Andy Kotelnicki (@Kotelnicki) December 9, 2024
Kotelnicki, 42, was one of the top candidates for the West Virginia head coaching job, and, for a hot minute, it looked like he’d be taking it.
But he announced via social media that he was staying at State, and told reporters a week later that it wasn’t a difficult call.
“Just what’s going on here, right?” he said. “I enjoy, first and foremost, the players that I get to coach on a daily basis. Working with Coach Franklin has been awesome, and the offensive staff that I work with is elite. So just a really easy decision, quite candidly.”
NOT QUITE HEAVEN…
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Andy Kotelnicki
West Virginia fired head coach Neal Brown on the first day of December, and not long after that, Kotelnicki emerged as a leading candidate.
In addition to that, sources told both Nittany Sports Now and its sister outlet, West Virginia Sports Now, earlier in the day that “a major sticking point” for Kotelnicki was not wanting to leave Penn State before the true end of their season, so not until they were eliminated in the College Football Playoff or crowned national champions.
A national title game appearance would’ve pushed things all the way to end of January and created a significant disadvantage for West Virginia in trying to retool its roster, most notably through the transfer portal.
Even a first round exit would still delay West Virginia’s search well over another week. WVSN, heard from a separate source that they believed Kotelnicki was simply using the CFP as a way to play hardball.
Penn State is 11-2, and the offense, for the most part, has performed well, averaging 33.6 points per game. Under Kotelnicki’s watch, Penn State’s offense has become known for its excitement, something most feel the unit lacked from 2021-23 under Mike Yurcich.
He caught the ball 17 times.
He ran the ball.
He threw the ball.
He snapped the ball.Tyler Warren was sensational for @PennStateFball vs. USC. pic.twitter.com/5bTv4SKaUK
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 12, 2024
HE HAS HIS QUARTERBACK
Drew Allar during pregame warmups ahead of the Big Ten Championship game.
Also Monday, Penn State found out it would get its quarterback back for 2025.
Drew Allar is somewhat of a polarizing figure amongst Penn State fans. Although most would agree that he’s put up good numbers over two seasons: 46 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 21-5 overall record—, the fact that he came in as a five-star meant that the expectations were through the roof for the pride of Medina, Ohio. This meant that anything short of near perfection— specifically against Michigan and Ohio State, who Allar is 0-3 against so far— would be deemed by a portion of Penn State fans to be not good enough.
Regardless, every Penn State fan should be happy to have Allar back.
Penn State has its first-ever College Football Playoff game Saturday, Dec. 21 against SMU at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on TNT/HBO Max.
